Teen son ate an entire large container of Whole Foods smoked mozzarella pasta salad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But no, generally I don’t care if anyone finishes off a full container of raspberries or ice cream or pasta salad. We will buy more. They eat enormous quantities of food.

This is a good approach if you can afford it. Treat foods were rare when I was growing up. It created a lot of competitive eating that was hard to overcome as an adult. If I knew we could just get more, I probably wouldn't have always overstuffed myself with the good things.

The poster is shopping at WF. Yes, she can afford to buy more food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would make a whole batch of breakfast burritos and keep them in the fridge. Eggs, sausage, veggies all wrapped up in tortilla and foil and easy to re-heat as needed.

He won't binge eat "boring" food like that. Only the "good stuff."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a reasonable amount for him to eat. I would not be concerned. I’ve had to adjust things to make sure the teens were not eating the ingredients for the next night’s dinner or my packed lunch, which are really my main concern.

Here’s what works in my house - labels. Mom’s lunch. Short and direct.

Or now I put ingredients in bags and tie them up. The whole family knows if they see a plastic grocery bag in the fridge or freezer tied up that’s off limits because that food is for a dinner later in the week.

But no, generally I don’t care if anyone finishes off a full container of raspberries or ice cream or pasta salad. We will buy more. They eat enormous quantities of food.

This was my house too. I labeled anything that I did not want them to eat. Otherwise it was fair game.

[Anonymous]

He's a teenage boy. Normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growth spurt. We’ve had entire containers of raspberries not make it to the fridge. Remind him there are other people in the house who would like to have treats too.

We buy two containers of this specific pasta salad each WF shopping trip. It's lasts about 4-6 days because the rest of us just take a little bit as a side item for lunch or maybe a snack. It seems at the very least uncivilized to hoover an entire container. Even if he's hungry, it's overboard, right?

That wasn't your original question. Your original question was whether it was a growing boy thing or a gluttony concern.

Now you are focused on manners in a family, which is a different topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But no, generally I don’t care if anyone finishes off a full container of raspberries or ice cream or pasta salad. We will buy more. They eat enormous quantities of food.

This is a good approach if you can afford it. Treat foods were rare when I was growing up. It created a lot of competitive eating that was hard to overcome as an adult. If I knew we could just get more, I probably wouldn't have always overstuffed myself with the good things.

Gosh, you just took me back to my childhood and it makes me so sad. It took me decades to get over the panic around treat foods. Learning to cook and cook well was the only way I could unwind the feeling of not being able to get something special for a long time. It was liberating to realize that I could have and make any food I wanted, but it took years and years to break that cycle.

OP, I keep going back to thinking your kid needs to learn to cook and prepare food. And then you need to stop buying easy but expensive prepared food for a while to short-circuit this behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growth spurt. We’ve had entire containers of raspberries not make it to the fridge. Remind him there are other people in the house who would like to have treats too.

We buy two containers of this specific pasta salad each WF shopping trip. It's lasts about 4-6 days because the rest of us just take a little bit as a side item for lunch or maybe a snack. It seems at the very least uncivilized to hoover an entire container. Even if he's hungry, it's overboard, right?

You shop at WF, you have money. Why not buy enough to satisfy the family. Posts like this show how messed up some people are around food.

I can't tell if you all are just being mean just for sport. You think we should just add 7x 1lb $11.99 each large containers of WF smoked mozz pasta salad to the shopping list so a 13 year old boy can binge eat one before bed every night? This is extremely indulgent and rude to the rest of the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But no, generally I don’t care if anyone finishes off a full container of raspberries or ice cream or pasta salad. We will buy more. They eat enormous quantities of food.

This is a good approach if you can afford it. Treat foods were rare when I was growing up. It created a lot of competitive eating that was hard to overcome as an adult. If I knew we could just get more, I probably wouldn't have always overstuffed myself with the good things.

Gosh, you just took me back to my childhood and it makes me so sad. It took me decades to get over the panic around treat foods. Learning to cook and cook well was the only way I could unwind the feeling of not being able to get something special for a long time. It was liberating to realize that I could have and make any food I wanted, but it took years and years to break that cycle.

OP, I keep going back to thinking your kid needs to learn to cook and prepare food. And then you need to stop buying easy but expensive prepared food for a while to short-circuit this behavior.

The sad thing is my DH grew up the same way. When we were first married, we used to have these stupid fights over food of all things, even though we could afford to go out and buy more food! We both gained weight from competitive eating. It was sad! Now that we are parents, I keep more good food on hand in the freezer and in pantry supplies, so my kids know we always have something to eat. This seems to moderate their eating more actually. They do get hungry though, so I have to be vigilant about keeping things stocked!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growth spurt. We’ve had entire containers of raspberries not make it to the fridge. Remind him there are other people in the house who would like to have treats too.

We buy two containers of this specific pasta salad each WF shopping trip. It's lasts about 4-6 days because the rest of us just take a little bit as a side item for lunch or maybe a snack. It seems at the very least uncivilized to hoover an entire container. Even if he's hungry, it's overboard, right?

Boy are you in for an unpleasant few years.

[Anonymous]

While teens should learn to prepare foods, we all know they don't really want to and often don't have the time. Prepared foods from WF are very attractive when you open the fridge. For some reason, those containers call out to people (me included) more than old Tupperware from the draw. So, the solution is this:

Make a giant batch of pasta salad, however you want to. (Do include cheese, though, so there is protein - could also include leftover chicken from a previous meal, etc..) Fill 3-4 of recycled WF containers with it. Put them in the fridge. Viola. Your teens will eat it, and the cost is probably $10 or less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growth spurt. We’ve had entire containers of raspberries not make it to the fridge. Remind him there are other people in the house who would like to have treats too.

We buy two containers of this specific pasta salad each WF shopping trip. It's lasts about 4-6 days because the rest of us just take a little bit as a side item for lunch or maybe a snack. It seems at the very least uncivilized to hoover an entire container. Even if he's hungry, it's overboard, right?

You shop at WF, you have money. Why not buy enough to satisfy the family. Posts like this show how messed up some people are around food.

I can't tell if you all are just being mean just for sport. You think we should just add 7x 1lb $11.99 each large containers of WF smoked mozz pasta salad to the shopping list so a 13 year old boy can binge eat one before bed every night? This is extremely indulgent and rude to the rest of the family.

I would not buy so little of a family favorite that each member could only take just a “little bit as a side item” for snack or lunch.

I find complaining about WF prices while shopping there for indulgent items to be silly.

[Anonymous]

I sincerely don't understand the mean posters. Were you never new to something? Have you always known ALL the things? Be nice.

OP, you got plenty of reassuring answers. But it reminds me...
My mom was what is referred to today as a "handful of almonds" mom. There were meals, and there were limited healthy snacks. Period. And then my brother and I hit the teen years and were always prowling around for more food, getting in her way, eating things she had earmarked for a specific purpose-- we were so desperate for calorie density that we ate baking chocolate. I don't remember a specific trigger, but at some point, she threw up her hands and started buying those cheap frozen burritos. Just for a few years. Adolescent metabolisms are a force of nature; don't try to fight it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growth spurt. We’ve had entire containers of raspberries not make it to the fridge. Remind him there are other people in the house who would like to have treats too.

We buy two containers of this specific pasta salad each WF shopping trip. It's lasts about 4-6 days because the rest of us just take a little bit as a side item for lunch or maybe a snack. It seems at the very least uncivilized to hoover an entire container. Even if he's hungry, it's overboard, right?

You shop at WF, you have money. Why not buy enough to satisfy the family. Posts like this show how messed up some people are around food.

I can't tell if you all are just being mean just for sport. You think we should just add 7x 1lb $11.99 each large containers of WF smoked mozz pasta salad to the shopping list so a 13 year old boy can binge eat one before bed every night? This is extremely indulgent and rude to the rest of the family.

I would definitely buy one a few times a week if he wanted it. So, yes. I often buy family-sized prepared food meals for them which they eat in a sitting or 2. I mean I do cook but I also do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While teens should learn to prepare foods, we all know they don't really want to and often don't have the time. Prepared foods from WF are very attractive when you open the fridge. For some reason, those containers call out to people (me included) more than old Tupperware from the draw. So, the solution is this:

Make a giant batch of pasta salad, however you want to. (Do include cheese, though, so there is protein - could also include leftover chicken from a previous meal, etc..) Fill 3-4 of recycled WF containers with it. Put them in the fridge. Viola. Your teens will eat it, and the cost is probably $10 or less.

This is smart

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I sincerely don't understand the mean posters. Were you never new to something? Have you always known ALL the things? Be nice.

OP, you got plenty of reassuring answers. But it reminds me...
My mom was what is referred to today as a "handful of almonds" mom. There were meals, and there were limited healthy snacks. Period. And then my brother and I hit the teen years and were always prowling around for more food, getting in her way, eating things she had earmarked for a specific purpose-- we were so desperate for calorie density that we ate baking chocolate. I don't remember a specific trigger, but at some point, she threw up her hands and started buying those cheap frozen burritos. Just for a few years. Adolescent metabolisms are a force of nature; don't try to fight it

No one has been remotely mean to OP. She pretended to ask a question, got lots of reasonably answers, and then complained that they weren't the answers she wanted.